Hacker News with Generative AI: Saudi Arabia

Forget jeansgate–Magnus Carlsen's deal with Saudi Arabia is the real story (sportspolitika.news)
While the chess world fixates on the FIDE jeansgate scandal, Carlsen quietly signed a deal to serve as Saudi Arabia's "global ambassador" for the 2025 Esports World Cup.
Epic Construction Site in the Saudi Desert Is a Hazard for Workers (wsj.com)
Billed as a futuristic city-state with dazzling architecture including parallel 106-mile-long skyscrapers taller than the Empire State Building, Neom is the centerpiece of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to transform his oil-rich country into a modern diversified economy.
Financially, Saudi Arabia is flying by the seat of its pants. But how longer? (middleeasteye.net)
Saudi Arabia's most extravagant and outrageous giga-project - the futuristic city called "Neom", carved out of the country's northwest border region - is trying a reboot after funding and other challenges over the past year appeared to put key elements of Neom in jeopardy.
Workers in Saudi Arabia say Amazon failed to compensate them for labor abuses (theguardian.com)
In February, one of the world’s richest employers, Amazon, announced it had refunded nearly $2m to more than 700 overseas workers who had been forced to pay big recruiting fees to get work at the company’s warehouses in Saudi Arabia.
Neom CEO departs as Saudi Arabia scales back mega-projects (theguardian.com)
Nadhmi al-Nasr, the longtime chief executive of the $500bn Saudi development project Neom launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has departed, according to a Neom statement issued on Tuesday that did not give a reason for the departure.
Saudi Arabia's Al-Jawf Desert Region Sees Historic Snowfall (weather.com)
Saudi government plans $100B AI and data infrastructure group (middleeastainews.com)
Bloomberg confirms rumours about 'Project Transcendence'
21,000 Killed Working on Saudi Megaprojects During Construction: Report (newsweek.com)
Thousands of workers have reportedly been killed or have gone missing during the construction of several megaprojects in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian Neom project 'uses one fifth of world's steel' (agbi.com)
The Neom giga-project in Saudi Arabia is currently using one fifth of all the steel produced in the world, an official said on Monday.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia push ahead with $1.8B electricity interconnector project (zawya.com)
Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Essmat has reiterated his commitment to completing the Saudi-Egypt electricity interconnector project by early summer 2024, emphasising the importance of close collaboration and coordination between all involved parties.
The Line (and why it's bad) (urbanproxima.com)
The Line is the mega-city of the future, or so Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman (aka MBS) would have us believe. Part of the Saudi government’s Vision 2030 initiative, the project originally claimed it could spin up a 9 million-person city in the middle of the desert.
Saudi Officials May Have Deliberately Assisted 9/11 Hijackers: New Evidence (propublica.org)
From the start of U.S. investigations into the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the question of whether the Saudi government might have been involved has hovered over the case.
World’s Biggest Construction Project Is a Magnet for Executives Behaving Badly (wsj.com)
Neom executives were summoned to the office to manage a crisis: Three workers had recently died toiling on the world’s biggest construction project.
New 9/11 Evidence Revives Questions About Hijackers' Saudi Ties (nytimes.com)
Saudi Arabia to get first alcohol shop in more than 70 years (bbc.com)
New 9/11 Evidence Points to Deep Saudi Complicity (theatlantic.com)
Neom: Saudi forces 'told to kill' to clear land for eco-city (bbc.com)
Saudi Arabia activist sentenced to 11 years for 'support' of women's rights (theguardian.com)
Saudis Scale Back Ambition for $1.5T Desert Project Neom (bloomberg.com)